Injuries: Keeping Safe

Baseball/softball injuries are generally defined as either cumulative or acute (traumatic) injuries. Cumulative injuries occur over time due to stress on the muscles, joints and soft tissues without proper time for healing. They begin as a small,ache or pain, and can grow into a harmful injury if they aren't treated early. Acute injuries occur because of a sudden force, or impact, and can be quite dramatic. The most common injuries among players are within their shoulders, elbow, wrist and hand, and the knee. Such things as a torn rotator cuff, tendinitis, bursitis, and torn ACL or MCL. Ligament injuries to the knee are very common in sports that require stopping and starting or quickly changing directions. These extreme forces on the knee can result in torn ligaments.
Also blisters, sprains or strains, and stress factors can occur while playing this sport. Many safety precautions are recommended to help prevent injuries such as warm up thoroughly prior to play, use good technique, stay hydrated, and get adequate recovery if possible.
Like in any sport, injuries are always possible. Any physical activity played could be harmful in some way. There are a number of precautions you can take to prevent someone from getting hurt while playing. Softball is no different. A ball flying in the air at great speed could be dangerous. If you are being careful and safe at all times, you are more likely to keep unharmed. It is the risk factor of causing injuries you need to be aware of. Taking risks, keeping safe and having fun is the moral of the game.

Slow pitch vs fast pitch

The manner of slow pitch softball, also known as "lob ball," in which the ball is delivered by the pitcher is the key distinguishing feature between the two types of softball. Where the fast-pitch game depends on a powerful pitcher who can deliver the ball with either great velocity or with deceptive ball movement, slow pitch encourages the batter to hit the ball, put the ball in play, and force the defensive team to make strong fielding plays to generate outs, as opposed to strikeouts by the pitcher.
In slow pitch, the pitcher must deliver the ball underhanded, with a minimum arc of 6 ft and a maximum arc of 12 ft. The umpire has the discretion to rule a pitch as illegal due to insufficient or excessive arc. Most pitchers attempt to deliver the ball in such a fashion that the ball is dropping in an arc that is as close to perpendicular to the ground as possible.
Although they have there differences, slow pitch softball and fast pitch softball are played on fields with similar dimensions. there are other rules that have a significant impact on how the two games are played. Fast pitch is played with nine players in the field, including the pitcher and the catcher; slow pitch is played with 10 players, with the additional player almost always positioned in the outfield, either in a relatively fixed location or as a rover. The additional player in slow pitch is intended to counter to some degree the additional hitting and offense that is invariably a part of the slow-pitch game.
Fast pitch is played with virtually all of the rules of traditional baseball and therefore employs very similar strategies. Through the removal of the high speed offering from the pitcher to the batter, slow pitch by definition is both a safer and an easier game to play and is also well suited for different age group competitions.

Women and men difference in sports

At the turn of the 10th century, changing economic gender roles threatened to undermine masculine privilege. Sports and success at particular sports were one means to ideology of masculinity. As a result sport, espicially collision of team sports, were defined as appropriate and in turn shaped ideoligies privileges.
There are several factors that limit womens access to sports experience. The first factor involves fewere opportunities for women and girl to participate in sports relative to men and boys. The second facotr is that males and females tend to be channeled into different types of leisure activities. The third factor is public cultural representations of sport tend to focus on women playing "female appropriate" sports and men playing "male appropriate" sports. Another factor is women sometimes are looked at as mannish or lesian.
Gendered bodies are male and not born and there are many gender expectations. Today most sports and success are still associated with different views. Sports raises mens social status and for women it is more ambiguous. In 1959 The American Softball Association league decided to innovate with a mixed couples league, and co-ed softball was officially recognized as a distinct variety of the game.

Missy's Mirror

The charity softball tournament to benefit Missy's Mirror is held at the Frank White Jr. Softball Complex in Lee's Summit , Missouri. It was held in 2006 with 24 teams participating, 13 men teams and 11 coed teams. Missys’ Mirror is named after Missy Newell and Missy O’Neill, two young mothers from the Kansas City area who lost their battles with cancer. Proceeds go toward an endowment fund at Missys’ Mirror to assist cancer patients who cannot afford to purchase wigs, breast prosthetics, and other necessary items.
Missy's Mirror is a boutique that includes a shopping area, makeover space with computer imaging center, and a one-chair beauty salon. A certified prosthesis fitter is available for personalized fittings. Specially trained hair stylists help cancer patients with their hair and an imaging center that allows patients to preview possible new hair styles. Volunteers are on hand to help outfit patients with clothing, wigs, hats, scarves, and skin care treatments. It is a comforting respite for patients who often are too tired or weak to go from place to place for specialized services, and is unique in the Kansas City area.